Spring 2023 - Volume 16, Issue 1 Newsletter
Designing Resilient Global Supply Chains
Until recently, the topic of global supply chains rarely captured public or media attention. But the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with geopolitical conflicts, has had an unprecedented impact on global supply chains and pushed the subject into the national spotlight. The intensity, durability and range of recent and ongoing supply chain disruptions have prompted enterprises to re-examine the premises of traditional supply chains.
If there is one thing firms have learned from their recent experiences, it is the need for resiliency in their supply chains. The grim situation experienced by global supply chains was different from past disruptions. Historically, supply chain shocks included natural disasters, terrorist attacks, information system downtime, labor disputes, hacker attacks and political and social movements. Such conventional shocks were often regional in scale and could be handled in isolation.
The latest shocks on global supply chains have several new features: the length of the disruption is long and unpredictable; the shock simultaneously impacts various geographical areas around the globe; and the shock disrupts both supply and demand, with the resulting bullwhip effect triggering even larger shocks in the upstream supply chains. Many problems remain in global supply chains, including shortages of raw materials and labor, clogged ports, transportation delays, government interventions, etc.
Clearly, resiliency does not just happen. It involves investing in people, processes and technology, as well as designing strategic redundancies in the supply chain. Post-pandemic reviews indicate that firms that handled disruptions better were those that invested in designing resiliency before the pandemic.
Our interdisciplinary supply chain management program covers critical topics to help today’s professionals successfully navigate future challenges. In this issue of Linkages, you will read about our program and faculty’s latest achievements and research, including: two new faculty who are using modeling to improve large-scale food distribution supply chains (p. 2-3) and optimize peer-to-peer transportation platforms (p. 6); how students experience the challenges of strategic decision- making through simulations (p. 7); the appointment of global supply chain leader Jennifer de Souza, vice president,
The Raymond Corporation, to the David D. Reh School of Business Leadership Council (p. 7); and more.
We hope you enjoy this issue and welcome your feedback (mahmoodi@clarkson.edu).
— Professor Farzad Mahmoodi
Joel Goldschein ’57 Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Management & Director of Clarkson’s GSCM Program